Fun Friday, Spectacular Saturday

T and A trying out one of the new tubes.
Cousins a tubin' together
Poor, poor little girl! She says it doesn't hurt much, but it hurts me to even see her poor ouchie!

Yesterday we spent most of the day playing outside, doing a little housework, and working in the garden. The kids did a lot of digging in the dirt, I feel like I did a lot more yard work. We fixed T's flat tire on his bike only to inflate the tire and have the tube explode. It even sent a tiny bit of tube shrapnel into the air. The kids thought that was pretty amazing that a tube can actually explode. No, I didn't overfill the tube, it must have had a weak spot. (I swear!)

Today, we woke up really early and went boating. Grandpa and Grandma even went on the boat (the first time this year)! All of the local cousins went as well. We tried out the new wake board (the other one got a little damaged at a youth church activity), and we used the new tubes. We had a single three person tube which was recently stolen. It was replaced with two, double seat tubes (I am sure if you can multiply that equals 4 people). The kids had a great time, and this was the first time that A rode in the tube without an adult or a much older cousin. She even sat down in the tube right in the water (anyone who remembers, knows that in the past the water has just been too cold for her and she would never be daring enough to go without a much bigger person). T and A rode in one tube together and their cousins rode in the other one. They thought it was pretty cool having the boat tow two tubes at once. Unfortunately there was an incident where A got quite the rope burn. There was a lot of slack in the line for their tube and the slack was almost out of the other tube's when the line ran right up her face. She got quite the terrible rope burn right on her cheek. Poor little girl! Other than that sad event, we all had a great time.

After we spent all morning boating we came home and rested a tiny bit. We then went to my high school reunion. They did a more formal one last night (I did not go) and they did a picnic one for graduates and their families at the park tonight. The kids met a lot of friends and I had some fun connecting with old friends. It is amazing how much some people have changed, and even more amazing how much some people have stayed the same. It was really a great time though and really neat to see so many of my former classmates and get to know their spouses and kids.

• I was playing and swimming with the kids on the beach for a tiny bit today. We were walking out and A really did not like the muddy sand in the water. I told her it was okay. Then all of the sudden she let out some blood curdling scream. I thought she hurt her foot on a rock, or something else. She started screaming, "An octopus is attacking me, it is trying to eat my foot!" She was quite convinced that what she was saying was true. I checked and told her that nothing was even getting her foot, and that everything was fine. I tried to calm her down. She didn't believe me. I told her that there are NO octopus in this lake. The screaming never stopped. Finally I realized that the algae had sort of been all around her foot. She was quite convinced that this was the octopus. I had a hard time not laughing as I carried her out of all the algae and away from the "octopus".

Ode to Strep Throat!

Here’s a little poem, about my friend strep throat,
It is a troublesome bacteria, I wish not to promote.

This is the only thing, with which my body gets sick,
it attaches to my body and pulls some dirty trick.

It thinks that we are buddies, like carrots and peas,
it comes around to annoy, just go away PLEASE!!

It tears up my throat, and it gives me a cough,
Something to bug me, why won’t it just back off!

This time is even better, I can feel it hurting my ear,
It is quite the painful feeling, and one I don’t hold dear.

If you have not felt of the joys, that it can possibly bring,
then that makes for two of us, for I feel nothing, but a sting.

I would that it was not, here with me now,
for every time I swallow, my body has a cow.

I guess it’s not that bad, life could certainly be worse,
however, it’s so annoying, it’s a good thing I don’t curse.

I haven’t had it for a while, I guess I should not complain,
6 times one year was all I could take, of this awful bacterial strain.

So I should do my best, and be the best hostess one can find,

it will soon be on its way, once I am driven out of my mind.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

This is one of the crafts T made for A.
This is a craft that A made for T, both of these were done completely independently.

T actually enjoys watching the TV this way every once in a while, don't ask me.
We had eclairs for our family night treat tonight. A loves them almost as much as I do. Why do I say almost? Well, first, no one loves them as much as me. Second, I would not let all that stuff on her hands and face miss MY mouth.
T is here kissing A's hand. Don't know where he learned that, but I guarantee it was not recently learned from me.

So, not a whole lot has been going on. I have been trying to recover from strep throat. I have been on anti-biotics for a while, so I have not been contagious to anyone else, but I have felt miserable. I actually have been known to get strep throat as many as 6 times in one winter. This however, is the worst I remember it ever being. Probably because in the past I have always caught it and recognized it really early. Most of the time I get strep throat and I usually never even spread it to my family. How weird is that? Anyway, so we have not done a ton this weekend. The kids have mostly played in the backyard with only a day or so at the park. Saturday night we went to Target to pick out a toy because the kids had earned some money. A chose an e-pets turtle and T chose a remote control helicopter. We spent a great deal of time playing with both, and especially liked when we had to get the helicopter off of the roof of the house once or twice. The kids have really enjoyed making crafts and presents for each other as well. We spent quite a bit of time in the garden checking out the baby pumpkins, searching really well for squash that is ready, and picking some tomatoes. The kids really love the garden, and I think all the things it teaches them are so worthwhile. Yesterday in Primary they learned about helping around the house with their mom and dad. T is loving the fact that there is now another boy in his class. I have started to take pictures (or scan) some of the pictures they draw, particularly from Primary. I would love to keep each one, but there is just no way. I figure I can at least save them some way. So, I will just post them here whenever I do a Sunday posting. After church all of their local cousins came over for dinner and to play. They had a great time and five of their cousins even came with us on our Sunday walk. It has been a fun weekend and as always, I was sad to drop them back off to their Mom's house tonight. School starts back up this week, so I am sure I will keep myself busy with that and work until Thursday night when they come back. It still stinks though. Other than that not much new to report, a little bit of Olympics here and there and that is about it.

This was A's primary picture this week.

This was T's primary picture this week.

• T asked if he could marry my sister. I told him "gross, you can't marry your Aunt, why would you say that." He said, "well then I would not have to find her a boyfriend." My sister always teases all the Grand kids that they need to find her a rich, single, nice boyfriend. She follows up with them every so often too.
• Someone (it doesn't really matter who) was trying to steer T's new helicopter away from the roof. It lost contact with the controller because it was too high and too far away. It ended up landing on the roof. A said, "wow Dad, way to go! You landed T's helicopter perfectly on the roof!" It was actually said sincerely. I really enjoy this time where you mess stuff up and they focus on the good. I am sure when they are teenagers, they will NOT be so kind.
• I let the kids play learning games on PBSkids.org every once in a while. I was making tuna fish sandwiches on Saturday for lunch. By the time I had finished, T had lifted my laptop on his lap, turned it on, and open the Internet explorer. As I was making the sandwiches, he kept asking me what the name of the website over and over. He would ask me and then repeat it back, "what is that kids game website?" PBS kids. "P..B..S kids?" Yes. I could not see him, only hear him. He asked me three or four times, I later realized it was because he knew it was a favorite and he was making sure to click on the right one. I have never even taught him how to do any of this, but he has just learned from watching me. Unbelievable and really sort of scary!

The Olympics

I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics that may not be some big surprise. What is a surprise is the fact that my 4-year old twins like watching them nearly as much as I do! I will be sitting in the lazy boy for a few minutes while they are playing and have the Olympics on. Next thing I know the kids will sort of look at the TV and see the Olympics. While never letting their eyes leave the TV, they will both come and sit on my lap. They will actually watch about an hour to an hour and 1/2 with me. Obviously I wouldn't watch that much and leave the kids unattended, but since normally all I ever get to watch is a Disney movie each day, and they are interested, I am taking advantage for two weeks. They even ask a lot about all of the countries and the flags, I think that is as much of a draw for them as the competitions. So what are their favorite competitions to watch? Swimming and beach volleyball. T likes it when the boys compete, A likes it when the girls compete. A will sit there and cheer, "GO America!!" every time there is a close race while watching swimming. They both even want to make sure we take their goggles the next time we go swimming.

• I was playing Candyland with the kids tonight. T was winning, so A said, "this is so weird, I keep getting such unusual colors." I don't think I have ever heard her say the word "unusual" before, but it is funny from a 4 year old. If anyone has ever looked at a Candyland board, the colors are blue, red, orange, yellow, purple, green (about 5 special areas are pink). However, in an effort to not give her such unusual colors I think next time we play I will call the colors: ocean, crimson, maple leaf, mustard, magenta, and chartreuse.

Welcome to Monday

Like every Monday, we did a lot of cleaning up the house, doing laundry, etc. in order for the house to be clean while I am at school and work and the kids are back with their Mom for a couple of days. We took a break in the late afternoon to go swimming at the rec center again. It is great that they have a family night rate. The kids had a great time and are really starting to learn a lot of new things and be pretty fearless. T can swim as long as he has a life jacket on. He kicks his feet and he paddles his arms, and he can go where he needs to go. He has really learned most of it by watching other kids. I have helped him, but he is very observant and picks up a lot of things by watching others (as long as he learns good things, we don't really have a problem). A has learned to kick her legs and lie on her back. She doesn't really have any direction, but she does move now. They both jump into the pool now, I have worked with them on plugging their nose and closing their mouths. For a lot of the night, A would let go of her nose just before she hit the water. She would then come up sputtering and coughing. Towards the end of the night, she got the hang of it though. I taught the kids what a canon ball is tonight. I showed them once and they thought it was so funny and loved the waves it made. They made me keep doing it for quite a while. I probably did 20 canon balls by the end of the night. It is nice being a dork in general because then when you have to do things for your kids, you are no worse off. I love to see them laugh and smile, so it is worth it. I think I need to enroll the kids in some swimming lessons, because they are little fish when it comes to wanting to swim. They only need the skills to navigate around the pool on their own. One of the best things about swimming comes later. The kids are usually so tired after swimming that they go right to sleep and usually sleep so well all night long.

• Today I found a spider and killed it. I was just finishing up when T asked what I was doing. I told him that I found spider and just killed it. He asked to see it and I said that it was wadded up in a tissue. He then asked, "Was it a Daddy spider?" I told him that it was pretty big, so it might be a Daddy spider. "He said, no I mean a Daddy leg spider?" It took me a minute to realize that he was talking about a Daddy Long Legs spider. I thought it was funny because it was probably the only spider I have identified to him. It was funny that he would remember me telling him that. I cannot even remember when we last saw a Daddy Long Legs. Side note: I really think it is so awesome that he is such a boy and wants to see dead spiders. No girly boy here!
• After seeing the ripples in the water from my canon balls T asked if that is where all the waves in the lake come from. I explained that it is usually from the wind and from lots of boats. It did make me laugh to myself for a while thinking that there was a team of people (or one enormous person) doing canon balls at the lake to make the water choppy.

Bicycling and Bruises

WHAT A CHAMP!

Yesterday my sister rode in an 111 mile bike tour. They started at Thanksgiving Point at 7:30am and rode clear around Utah Lake, and then back to Thanksgiving Point. We decided to go down just before she finished and cheer for her at the finish line. A even made a drum to play when she came by (a plastic cup and a No. 2 pencil). One day I hope to be in that good of shape (and have a road bike), and then be able to accomplish that as well. She is so good to the kids and all the nieces and nephews, so they were really excited to see her "race". After we got home, the kids decided that they wanted to ride their bikes while I mowed the lawn. T learned the hard reality of what a flat tire is and how bad it stinks. I don't think he thought it was that cool, but for the most part he is pretty mellow when it comes to things just naturally happening.
Today we went to church and the kids were really good. T finally has another boy in his Sunbeam class (I believe there was only him and 4 girls, great odds when your 29 and single, not so cool when you're 4). The kids were really good all day in Sacrament other than we are still working on their volume level when they talk. The only funny thing was when I kept saying, "shuuuush" to the kids and reminding them to whisper. Finally T had heard enough and said, really loudly, "Dad, stop saying shush, shush, shush all the time! We are normal kids who need to talk." I just reminded him that it was okay to talk, but they needed to whisper. After the rain and hail subsided we went for our normal Sunday night walk. T was so thirsty and kept complaining about it, so we stopped at my brother and sister in law's house to get a drink of water. We ended up staying for a couple of hours and T ended up getting his first really good (bad?) black eye. Poor guy, he not only hit under his eye, but the edge of his eyelid too. At first he wanted to blame his cousin or the door, but after an hour or two he quietly told me, "I just need to watch where I am going, next time I will make sure to watch where I am going." I know that it was not some big deal, but I was so proud of him for taking responsibility. We live in a world where many adults want to blame everything that happens on something or someone else, and I was so proud that my 4 year old could own up to a mistake so well.

POOR GUY, LOOK AT THAT SHINER

Boondocks

This afternoon and night we went to Boondock's with my parents. My Dad's company rented out the whole place for a company party and they invited us as well. We were there for 4 or 5 hours and we had a great time. We started by going on the bumper boats. I was hoping to take both T and A with me, but they only allowed two people on each little boat. Grandpa was nice enough to go with T and get soaking wet (each of the boats has a water canon that shoots pretty far). T kept grabbing the controls so that he could spray people. Just a side note, those canons sort of stink when you are 6'4". If you are really close to another boat it shoots right over them. When you are my height and most of it lies in your torso, this steady stream hits you square right above the eyes. After the boats, we then rode the go-carts for a while. Grandpa was again nice enough to take one of the kids (A this time). It really was nice of him because I am VERY sure he would not have done either one of these activities if it wasn't for the kids. T and A were both grinning ear to ear the whole time we drove the go-carts, and even though they only go like 15 MPH, the kids said that was the fastest they have ever gone! After that I took the kids over and we played in the laser tag arena. They looked so awesome in their gear. They loved it and kept saying how fun it was to play tag with the laser guns. We then had dinner with all of Grandpa's employees. It was really good food as well, and after dinner, we finally went miniature golfing. After, we were about to go home, but then the kids wanted to use their tokens (each kid there got 20 tokens and each adult got 10). They also tried out the kid area with huge slides and netting and stuff. We finally headed home at about 8:45, and the kids were exhausted enough that it did not take much to get them to sleep. It was really nice of Grandma and Grandpa to take us with them. They probably just felt sorry for us because the Andersons (some of the only people willing to be seen with me in public) just left for their new home in Ohio this morning. We are sure going to miss them, but we wish them well!

• Today we were standing in line for the boats and some kid barely sprayed his water canon at the crowd. A got about two drops on her and she said, "holy cow! look Daddy, I am soooo soaking wet!" Well, she thought it was funny that she was "soaking wet" I just thought her thinking she was soaking wet was funny. I guarantee after our ride she REALLY was soaking wet though, I know I was.


• T ran off in the arena when we were playing laser tag. I quickly found him and reminded him that they both needed to stay right by me. He said, "how I am supposed to beat the guys on the blue team, when they can see your big tall body all over the place?" Okay, maybe he has a valid point.


• After tickling and wrestling T I told him, "I love you big buddy!" He responded, "I love you too little guy!" I am really starting to think that we did not spend enough time in those books about opposites such as big and small, hot and cold, dry and wet, etc. because he often refers to me as little. I guess it is okay since he thinks he is so funny when he says it.

Gardening and Kids

The other day I was working a TINY bit in the garden and I found myself comparing gardening to raising kids. One might say that is because in both cases I have no idea what I am doing. I am not saying that is true, but I am not, not saying that is true either. Seriously though, I think that there are so many comparisons one could make. The soil must be prepared to grow plants, and you must prepare your home and your own personal "soil" to be effective in the life of your children. A garden must be weeded, and you must correct and maintain the behaviors of a child. You have to "weed" out the bad. Plants must be given care and nourishment to grow, and you really have to give love, care, and nourishment to a child. Snails or other harmful insects must be eliminated, and you have to do your best to keep your children safe. Really there are so many things that could be compared. If one takes care of a garden the right way, then great healthy plants, producing healthy fruit will be the reward. If one raises a child well, then the child (usually) produces good things as well.

All of this leads me wonder how I am doing as a parent. What am I doing to make sure that my "soil" (my home, my teachings, my example, etc.) is the best it can be? Do I ALWAYS give them a good home environment in which to learn and grow? What am I doing to help the kids learn the correct things, and to try to "weed" out the bad? I think the biggest thing is how often do I give the kids nourishment, and care? Do I constantly give them the "water and sunshine" required for them to grow in this life? Most people would just do their gardening and get on with their day. I apparently must have ADD because I think too much about each little task. This particular task caused a lot of reflection and evaluation in my mind of what I need to be as a father. In the end, I just hope that this garden (my home) gives the kids the love that they need to stand tall and produce the good things in life.

Sunday and Saturday

Today A gave the scripture in Primary. It was on baptism and she did a great job. T was unable to go to church because he was sick today with what appears to be a cold, but maybe it is just really bad allergies. T stayed with Grandma for part of church while I needed to be at church to help A. Grandma then had to play the organ in Sacrament meeting and so I came home and cuddled with the little guy. That is the ONLY thing that is good about them being sick. As they have grown older, they have slowly shuffled away from being cuddly, but when they are sick, they still like to be held and comforted. Before leaving church I looked in on A's class and they were playing the board game, "SORRY!" Only their Primary teacher had changed the name of the game to "I'm sorry" to teach them how to say "I'm sorry. I cannot believe how kind she is to the kids and also what a great teacher she is. When A came home from Sacrament with Grandma and Grandpa they were carrying a big paper bag for T. Last week the kids had a lesson on temples. Apparently she gave all the kids (except T) a little picture of the Salt Lake Temple. T didn't get one because he told her, "I don't want some little tiny picture!" So, today she gave him a BIG picture of the Salt Lake Temple. I don't know many people who would go to all that trouble. They are so lucky to have such a great teacher.

Yesterday we helped the Anderson's move a few things with the truck. Later that night they treated us to a dinner at Outback Steakhouse. We had a lot of fun with them. It is fun for me to just hang with them and do some "work" while the kids just get a bunch of time to play together.

More funny things:

• The truck parks under a tree when we are not using it, therefore the back of it it fills with a little debris. When we have all the windows open and are cruising down the freeway the wind picks some of it up and it comes into the windows. We still have not fixed the VERY cracked windshield on the truck. A, not realizing that the leaves were blowing in the side windows, said, "DAD you have got to get the cracks in that big window fixed because leaves are blowing through them right into my eyes!"
• I took T to the bathroom at Outback and someone had gone on the seat. I had to clean it all off in order for him to use the toilet. He asked what I was doing, and I told him that someone had done that and I was cleaning it off for him to use it. He said, "It was probably the same Satans that threw a bottle at our trucks window." He thinks that anytime someone is bad they are a "Satan."
• Tonight T was rubbing lotion on his arm (they love lotion for some reason) and he said, "look Dad this is making me have little tiny furs (it was roughing up the peach fuzz on his arms) so that when I am big I will have lots of big fur on my arms like you do!" I was unaware it was fur, but if that is the case, and considering I have size 15 feet maybe I need to confess, that yes, I am BIG FOOT!

Dancing and Dining

Today the kid's cousins came and played most of the day. We had a lot of fun with them. Then for dinner tonight we went to an old fashioned drive in/diner by our house. The kids were absolutely amazed with the jukebox. I never realized until that point that they probably have never seen one before. They asked what it was, so I showed them and we used it. We played three or four songs. I don't think I have been to eat there since high school; lucky for me, the food is just as good now as it was then. The kids and I had a great time.

Here are T and A dancing to the music on the jukebox, they were so cute and it was so fun to watch them. Here T is about to spin A around. (not a terrible picture for a camera phone either)
The kids (okay, maybe only A) have worn their mom's shirts to bed before. This new bed time ensemble all started when I caught a "Geek Squad" t-shirt at the rodeo a few weeks ago. T really wanted to wear the shirt to bed. The only problem is their mom is about 5'2". I on the other hand have about 14" and at least a 100 pounds on her. Therefore you are left with one of my smaller shirts fitting T like this! He doesn't seem to mind though and prefers it to alot of his pajamas including the Lightning McQueen ones. As you can see, the "short" sleeves are still too long for his arms and his shoulders could pop out of the hole for the head at any second.
This is T demonstrating how easy it is for him to curl up into a blue ball in one of my shirts

• T and I were wrestling and I was tickling him tonight before bed. He said, "wait, wait, I have something important to tell you." I stopped and said, "what buddy." He said, "I think your mom is calling and she has a fresh apple pie for you, you had better hurry and get it." I don't know where he came up with that, but it made me laugh pretty hard. That is a great way to trick somebody in a situation like that. By the way, I checked later; no apple pie to be found.
• T was also talking to me about Pinocchio tonight. He was explaining that Pinocchio got into all that trouble because he didn't listen to his conscience. I said, "that's right, only your conscience is not a bug because you are not a wooden boy. Your conscience is in your heart and it helps you to listen and choose the right." I then asked him if he remembered the name of Pinocchio's conscience. He said, "of course I do silly it is "Chimney" (not Jimney) Cricket, everyone who's seen Pinocchio knows that!"